one last chance
by nini126
Summary: oneshot. RM. before the accident. my first fanfic. read...please & thank you.


**AN: so this is my first story. I wrote it for a writing component at school and it was going to be an actual story but for now its a one shot. this is occuring in the last episode of season three, before the accident, before they graduate. kinda how i thought it should have gone. so reply. good, bad, i dont care. just tell me what you think. **

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**One Last Chance**

Ryan shuffled out of the pool house and down the outside steps into the main house. Sandy and Kirsten were already awake and dressed, sitting at the breakfast bar, reading the morning paper, and smearing bagels. Ryan walked passed Sandy and Kirsten, over to the coffee pot, and poured himself a cup, just as he did, Seth staggered down the stairs and into the kitchen half-asleep.

"It's graduation day. You boys excited?" Sandy said while folding and setting the newspaper on the counter.

Seth yawned and walked over to the coffee pot. "Oh yes, totally." Seth replied sarcastically as he poured himself a cup of coffee.

"First one in the Atwood family, so… yeah, I am." Ryan responded as he sat down on the bar stool next to Kirsten.

"You both better go get ready," Kirsten declared. "The Roberts and Coopers will be here in an hour to take group pictures." Ryan stood up, grabbed his cup of coffee, walked slowly around the kitchen table, and out to his pool house. Seth grabbed his coffee as well, moved around the island in the center of the kitchen and headed up the stairs and back to his room. The boys went into their rooms to start getting ready.

At the Cooper Roberts' mansion, the girls have been getting ready for the last hour.Marissa was frantically searching through her blue and yellow makeup bag for her liquid black eyeliner. Having no luck, she quickly thought, "Maybe Summer borrowed it." Crossing the hall separating their bedrooms, Marissa scanned the room for Summer as she walked in, but she was nowhere to be seen so Marissa called out, "Hey Summer? Where are you?"

"In here." Summer called from inside her massive closet. Marissa walked in, looked around, and was amazed. There were clothes _everywhere_, on the floor, in piles in the corners, and falling off hangers.

"What happened in here?" Marissa asked, looking a little confused.

Summer glanced around and saw how messy her closet was. "Umm… I was deciding what to wear today."

Marissa glanced around the room once more. "So are you excited?" She asked while stacking clothes into a pile so she could make room to sit down.

"Yes! I'm totally psyched." Summer replied as she walked over to where Marissa was sitting and joined her. "Aren't you?"

"Yeah… I guess. I just wish I had someone to share it with, like you have Seth." Marissa's reply was lined with sadness and Summer could tell she was thinking about him again.

"You still miss him huh?" Summer asked, even though the answer was completely obvious.

"Every day."

Marissa and Ryan were always the couple that, no matter what, would end up being together, but they just had to get over everything that had happened in the past. From Ryan's brother Trey trying to rape Marissa and her shooting him, the death of Marissa's friend Johnny, Ryan breaking up with her over the phone, and then his move toward Sadie. They were an amazing couple, always made each other happy, but is all the pain that comes along with their relationship worth it?

"Why did you guys give up? I know the whole Johnny thing, but why not give it another shot?"

"Believe me, I wanted to, I tried to. But then he went to Sadie." Marissa began thinking; what went wrong? Why did he turn to Sadie? Why did he break up with her over the phone? Was she not worth enough for him to tell her that in person? She had too many questions and all of them unanswered.

"Marissa, you ignored him for Johnny then, when he died you wouldn't talk to him; how was he supposed to help and comfort you when you wouldn't let him in? I'm not trying to side with him here but honestly, do you think, if you were in his position, you wouldn't have broken up with him? Ryan told Seth he did that for you, he thought that was what you wanted. He already thought he lost you and breaking up with you on the phone was easier than trying to do it in person because, you both know if he tried to do that in person you wouldn't have broken up and who knows what things would be like now?" Summer sighed. She told Marissa everything hoping she would understand Ryan did what he did because he thought she would be better off. She continued, "Seth also said that Ryan hasn't been as happy as when you were together."

Marissa let out a breath that she didn't realize she was holding. Maybe Summer was right, maybe he did do that in her best interest, but in reality, it wasn't. She needed him, he was her rock, and he kept her grounded so she didn't fly to far off the handle. He knew her the best, maybe even better than Summer. It took Marissa a little while to reply but, eventually, she slowly began. "I know, I know, but how can we become anything, whether friends or something more, if I'm leaving tomorrow?" Marissa asked. "I just wish I could figure out how he feels before I fly across the world."

"Are you going to tell him you're leaving?"

"Yeah… and I want to ask him to drive me to the airport, but I dunno if he'll be okay with that. Maybe, he'll realize that I want us back and make a move"

Summer chuckled. "Hopefully, but we'll see. Now, let's finish getting ready before we end up late to our own graduation." About a half an hour later, the girls were finished getting ready. They piled into Neil's car and the Cooper Roberts family made their way over to the Cohen household.

The boys finished getting ready and were sitting in the living room, waiting for the girls to arrive. "This year has been all time." Seth commented.

"Oh yes… for you, maybe." Ryan replied sarcastically.

"You too, man."

"How?"

"You and Marissa did the deed," Seth started, "you got with Sadie, and you got into college. Berkley man, that's amazing."

Ryan half-heartedly chuckled, "Very funny, then we broke up over Johnny and we couldn't try anything again 'cause I chose Sadie over her, she was my girlfriend and I chose another girl."

"I was going more toward the fact that you got into college but we can talk about Marissa if you want. By the way you responded, I take it you still miss her."

"Every day." Ryan began. "But she wouldn't want me back because I didn't trust her with Johnny." There was an awkward pause between the boys but Ryan didn't notice because his mind was filled with memories of senior year and many questions without answers. Ryan was snapped out of his thoughts when the doorbell rang.

Seth, happy to be saved from that awkward silence, jumped up to get the door. "That would be the ladies." Seth said with a slight smirk. He waltzed into the entryway, reached for the handle, and opened the door. "Hello ladies." Summer greeted him with a quick kiss then pulled Marissa through the door and over to the living room where Ryan was sitting. Seth followed behind the girls and came to a stop next to Summer.

"C'mon Chino, let's get these pictures done so we can graduate." Summer said, and then she grabbed Seth and pulled him out of kitchen doors and into the backyard where the pictures would take place. Ryan and Marissa followed the couple not too far behind.

Before they reached the kitchen doors that lead out into the backyard, Marissa pulled Ryan aside and quietly asked him, "After we take pictures can we talk… alone?"

Ryan responded with a simple yes they continued to walk outside and the pictures began. When they were finished, Ryan walked up to Marissa and quietly whispered in her ear, "You wanna talk?" They strolled passed the pool and up the stairs to the pool house. Ryan, being the gentleman he is, opened the door for Marissa. She walked in and looked around. She wasn't sure whether she should sit on the chair or the bed, but she quickly decided that the bed was fine. Once she sat down on his bed memories began flooding through her mind. Ryan joined her on his bed and asked, "Hey, what's up? Is everything okay?"

Marissa snapped out of her daze and looked up at Ryan's face and answered. "I need to tell you something..." She paused. "I'm not going to Berkley with you." Ryan's face fell, but he quickly regained his composure so she wouldn't notice. "I'm going to Greece, with my dad. I'll be working on a cruise ship."

"Oh, well… have fun with that." Ryan quietly snapped back.

"Ryan! Don't be like that, please. It's only for a year, and then I'm going to come back and go to college. I just… I need to find out who I want to be."

"And you can't do that here? Why do you have to go all the way to Greece to figure that out?" Ryan asked getting a little angry. Every time he thought about college, he always envisioned Marissa standing next to him that they would face college together. Now, she wasn't going to be there and he couldn't, or maybe he just didn't want to, understand why.

"Please, try to understand. I just need to do this." Marissa pleaded with him.

"Okay I get it, but just know I don't want you to go."

Marissa paused for a while. Then she looked at him and realized this was his move, this was the sign she was going to get from him. He still wants to be with her and now, she's going to leave him. Lost in her thoughts, she almost forgot the reason she came and the question she wanted to ask him.

"One more thing?" She began; Ryan nodded in acknowledgement. Marissa continued, "Could you drive me to the airport?"

He looked puzzled "You don't want your mom or Summer to drive you?"

"No. I need to say goodbye to you last."

"When do you leave?"

"Tomorrow. I think my plane leaves at 1:30 so I'd have to be there around 11."

"Okay. No problem." Ryan said. As he finished his sentence, they could hear Sandy calling, "Kids it's time to go."

"Let's go." Ryan grabbed Marissa's hand to help her up from the bed. She walked in front of him and led the way out of the pool house. They walked along to pools' edge and out the back gate that lead the way to the driveway where everyone was waiting. Ryan hopped into the passenger seat of the black Range Rover while Seth sat in the drivers' seat waiting to leave. Sandy and Kirsten took the black BMW, and Marissa got into the car with her mom, Summer, and Mr. Roberts.

When they arrived at Harbor, the four teens made their way into the school lunch room to line up for the ceremony, while their parents found their seats outside. As soon as the girls arrived in the room Marissa leaned over and whispered to Summer, "Sum, he said he'd take me to the airport"

"Oh my gosh. Go Marissa!" Summer said enthusiastically.

It was almost time for the ceremony to start so, all the seniors lined up in alphabetical order and slowly filed out to their seats. The ceremony began. When a graduate was called up their parents hollered and shouted then cried once they realized their child was going off to college. Ryan was the first of the four to be called up. "This is it." He thought as he walked across the stage in his blue gown and cap. He looked out to the audience and saw Sandy and Kirsten, his parents, his real parents, the people who cared about him the most. Kirsten had tears in her eyes and Sandy had his "I'm proud of you son" face on. He did it, Ryan graduated; the first one in the Atwood family, all thanks to Sandy and Kirsten; without them who knows where he would be. Ryan looked back on his life and he realized that without them he would be nothing; they gave him everything he could ever imagine. He gazed back at them and smiled big, really big, as he continued to walk down the aisle. He received his diploma and switched his tassel as the next person was called up.

Few more people received their diplomas then Seth was called up. He strolled up on stage with a big goofy Seth Coheny smile. While walking up, he looked out into the audience and saw his parents. By this time, Kirsten was balling her eyes out and Sandy's eyes looked a little moist as well. Seth was surprise he had made it through high school in one piece. He went from being an über geek whose shoes people peed in, to having the most wonderful, not to mention beautiful and popular, girlfriend, and two other best friends. His first year at Harbor sucked but his last three were the best, thanks to Ryan coming into his life. Without Ryan, he would have been stuck in his shy geeky stage with no friends. Ryan befriended him without caring what others thought about him. Seth had to remember to thank him later, but right now, he was graduating and he needed to continue walking otherwise, he would not receive his diploma. Seth, like the others before him, obtained his diploma and switched his tassel.

Right after Seth was Marissa. With everything that has happened this year, actually everything that has happened since Ryan came, she was still amazed she graduating. Marissa looked out at her mother and they shared a smile, one of those 'I'm proud of you, I love you" kind. With everything that her and her mom went through, it is still kind of astonishing that they don't hate each other. It just took them both a little longer to realize that they were in this together, they were family, and family sticks together. Marissa needed her mom, not a friend, and Julie was starting to take on that role. Marissa got her diploma, switched her tassel, and joined the others back in their seats.

Finally, after more than a few people, it was Summer's turn. As she walked up on to the stage, she scanned the audience for her dad and once she saw him, they shared a smile. Still, Summer couldn't believe all the drama that had happened in the last three years at Harbor. Everything was all okay now and she couldn't wait to leave Newport and go to college with Seth. The only thing left to do was to get Ryan and Marissa back together so they could be happy. She continued to walk up and then received her diploma, turned her tassel, and made her way back to her seat.

After the last senior obtained his diploma the ceremony ended, and of course, the adults wanted more pictures.

After everything was over, Ryan, Seth, Summer, and Marissa decided to go celebrate their graduation and spend Marissa's last night together. They all hopped in the Range Rover and drove to their hang out, the diner. Ryan parked the car and everyone got out. They walked over to the front entrance and Seth grabbed the door and held it open for everyone to go in. They all walked inside, sat down at their usual booth, in their usual seats, which meant Seth and Summer sat across from Ryan and Marissa. For a moment, things where quiet, everyone seemed lost in their own thoughts, then Summer spoke up.

"I still can't believe you're leaving."

"I know, neither can I. I'm gunna miss you. All of you." Marissa replied with sadness.

Ryan leaned closer to Marissa and slipped his arm around her waist in a way that Seth and Summer could not see. He whispered in her ear, "Then don't go."

Marissa turned toward him and looked deep into his eyes. "You know I want to, but… I need to go. I need to prove to myself that I don't need anyone to survive, that I can be alone without breaking down, and I don't always need someone to rescue me."

Seth and Summer looked at the two and realized this was a special moment between them, so they carefully snuck out of booth and made it out of diner, by way of the side door, without the "couple" noticing.

"Please stay… for me." He wasn't begging anymore, he was pleading with her to stay.

"But what'll happen if I stay? Are we together or not? I'm not gunna stay and just expect everything to fall into place. It's never happened that way before, what makes you think it will this time? I can't stay not knowing that this… that what we have will work out." She sighed and inhaled a extra breath to get out her final sentence. "If we start this again, I… I don't want it to end." As soon as she finished, Ryan caught her lips in a kiss a simple, unexpected, yet perfect kiss.

"Me too. Please stay?"

"I want to, I really do, but I just can't. I'll come back for school in the fall; we'll go to Berkley together. Just let me go for the summer. Three months, that's all. I promise." Marissa pleaded with him one more time.

"Okay, I'll agree to that." Ryan said. "It's getting late; I should probably take you home before your mom flips out."

Before they got up Marissa asked, "Ummm… Ryan, do you think I could spend the night in the pool house… with you? It'll be three months before I see you again."

"Of course you can, but don't you think your mom would want you home?"

"Ryan, don't argue." She told him. "I just want my last night to be with you."

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**tell me what you thought.**


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